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Where I grew up there was a man down the street that had three wolves he had rescued. He had a huge, enclosed area for them as his backyard, but you could see the wolves on their perches, in their dens, playing with their "toys" and eating from the street, it was so amazing. You could hear them howling a lot. He was a really fascinating guy. I know on Halloween he would always play recordings of his own wolves howling, haha. When I went to visit my hometown a while back they were gone, I was told they moved somewhere bigger.

There was the one video of a wolf pack excitedly greeting their human "mother" after years of not seeing each other, and that other story of the shark that comes by the same spot of ocean every year to hang out with the diver that saved him.

That said, those are probably exceptions - face mauling is likely the rule.

You'd be surprised how intelligent animals are, as well as their capacity for gauging a persons intentions/ character and remembering who did them right and wrong.

I'm no zoologist, but that guy may have just made a friend for life. That wolf is going to forever associate that awful time being ended by that man and his smell, so it will most likely remember his smell in the future and possibly think twice, especially if it isn't ravenous and just defending territory.

Man domesticated wolves somehow, and this was most likely an example with more modern tools and traps.

I'm sure some sorry bloke has been eaten countless times trying to help an animal, but this is a good example of the right way. Be patient, no sudden movements, peaceful eyes and an unassuming stance, a gentle but firm hand so the animal knows that you are in control and trying to help. And as always make sure you are in control of the mouth.

Wolves were domesticated by them eating our scraps / trash and traveling with/near us. We killed the ones that were aggressive and let the friendly ones stay. I'm sure we rewarded the friendly ones too to foster a better relationship with them...

but one wolves personal relationship with a human is not a hereditary trait. They co-evolved with us not because we were nice to them, but specifically because only the nice ones were allowed to stay near us and reap the fitness reward of free food, additional security against predators, and in time, shelter. We created an evolutionary pressure to select for more domesticated wolves, and over millenia it worked.

Dogs likely were domesticated from wolves that had something similar to William's syndrome - which has a main symptom of friendliness to everyone. Genetic analysis shows dogs have mutations in the same genes and show many of the same symptoms.

So it's likely that wolves with these mutations were friendlier and not aggressive and may even have approached humans.

it's a nice idea, but it probably didnt happen that way. If this wolf and its pack are hungry they will murder him.

Chances are since he’s the one who set the trap he also had a motion camera setup out there to alert him when something gets trapped. He saw it was not what he intended to catch, so he went out to free it. Then probably uploaded the footage to share his encounter with a wolf.

I don’t know his intentions so I am not defending him, just presenting a highly possible scenario.

Thank you. We need more people acknowledging plausibilities or lack thereof rather than just picking what their gut tells them is the truth and defending it as absolute truth. But you're right, I think that's a very plausible scenario.

Wolves are generally not very dangerous to humans. IIRC there have only been two deaths attributed to wolves in the last 100 years and they were not confirmed.

Edit: I was incorrect about the number of attacks, I think I had heard the statistic for North America only, however, wolf attacks are significantly less common than many other dangerous animals, and in general while you should never be anything less than cautious about encountering one in the wild, you generally do not need fear a wolf attack when going out.

There are few historical records or modern cases of wolf attacks in north America. In the half-century up to 2002, there were eight fatal attacks in Europe and Russia, three in North America, and more than 200 in south Asia.
Experts categorize wolf attacks into various types, including rabies-infected, predatory, agonistic, and defensive.
This being said wolves are not inherently aggressive to humans and many attacks are fear based.

I'm pretty sure I could, but I wouldn't have the tools for it. From my Reddit experience most animals are mostly like "WTF just happened" and run off as fast as they can. Is there any example where a freed animal actually attacked the human?

I'm not thinking the wolf was there for very long. I regretfully have a lot of experience with trapping from my youth, and animals with sharp teeth will attempt to sever whatever is caught in the trap in order to get away.

I mean, it was being poked and prodded from a cage, not really the same situation where it was hurt in a trap...why the hell they didn't close their windows and doors to wait for it to get out and leave I have no idea..not smart.

The first thing I thought when he had to let the wolf go was if tranquilizer darts are available to people who do this on their property.
I have a feeling they're controlled but maybe a black bag with that collar stick so the animal can't see until you're full stride running to your vehicle haha.

Injured animal is unlikely to chase fleeing human that just helped them

They don't know you helped them, you were trying to eat them and failed, for what they know.
They might be in fight or flight mode, it's all or nothing in that situation and the fact that he's injured doesn't matter as if he doesn't act he's dead, in his mind.

Yeah. I used to sell (wholesale) them as part of a job unfortunately. I tried to push the rubber jawed at least, but I don’t understand why they’re still in use. There’s plenty of other ways to accomplish the same thing that are much more merciful.

They had their place in history but it’s really time they were relegated to it.

i accidentally choked my dog a bit today, I was bent over at the knees playing with my other dog and this one comes up from behind me between my legs and I wrapped her up, one arm around her neck and one around her belly just playing but I pulled a little too hard and she coughed for like 5 minutes

my point is that dogs are vulnerable to chokeholds and this is useful information if we ever have the dog war

They can learn that was helpful but they don't always recognize it as help while it's happening.

Sometimes animals who have had positive experiences with humans will try to find or be found by humans for help, some will start out fighting but realize you're trying to help and calm down but it's never guaranteed that's the case and you should never assume that an animal will understand that you're helping (especially any animal of a non-domesticated species like wolves, hawks, and deer).

Also, animals turn into panicky balls of fear and survival instinct when they're hurt or trapped and often aren't able to be calm even if do they think you're trying to help.

If you're gonna go trying to rescue some hurt or trapped animal you don't personally know, it's best if you have friends to help, thick gardening gloves, at least one towel, and some way to contain and transport the animal (like a cat carrier or dog crate). It's also a good idea to know where the closest emergency vet or wildlife rehab facility is; if you find a hurt wild animal during normal business hours, call the wildlife center and give them the basic details ("I'm up at Road and Crossroad and there's a hawk caught on a barbed wire fence" something like that). They can take it from there or you can stay on scene until they arrive.

I love animals so much it hurts but if it's a wild animal, leaving to the professionals is generally better for everyone involved, including the animal.

Last time I saw a similar video on here someone pointed out that the animal is essentially getting choked out because the snare stops the blood flow. So it's more that it can't fight back.
Correct me if I'm wrong though!

Just like other higher order mammals, they have two brains, analytical and reptile. They might recognize and associate you as stopping them from being trapped/injured, but animals are unpredictable in that you don't know what will trigger their instinctual responses. It's just as likely to wait as to attack as to flee.

This is true of dogs as well but people don't want to hear it. "my floofie would never harm any living thing!" until you flip the combination of switches that trigger 100 million year old brain patterns, and then it fights to the death.

Going to add this here, most people don't go cruising around the woods with a snare pole. The only people that I know that use them are trappers. And they use them for exactly this reason. Snare the animal that you trapped if it's not your intended target then get them out of the trap and set them free safely. Though "safely" is a relative term... I've never been a fan of trapping personally, but it's useful for getting rid of harmful and invasive species.

There is nowhere in the lower 48 where it is legal to hunt wolves. I don’t know about Alaska, either way this whole thread is misinformed in assuming the worst about this guy and hunters/trappers.
EDIT: it is legal in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, so only the majority of the lower 48 is it illegal.

Ok I agree but lets play the devils's advocate for a moment. My uncle is a trapper (im not a fan personally) he keeps a motion camera and snare at his trapping sites so he doesnt have to carry them from place to place.
That being said yea this guy looks like he knows his way around this trap and it is probably his but it could have been a capable hiker just passing through that took advantage of a snare being left to release the animal and it was caught on a camera already there.

oof, that's one I wouldn't want to have to help with. At least with the wolf you can pin its head away and release it. Hard to get a hammock off the antlers without getting close to the business end of the deer lol

I had that choker leash thing ( really don’t know what it’s called) and wrapped it basically around it’s face and had to arm wrestle it almost to the ground while I cut the hammock. The thing flipped out multiple times and wasn’t calm at all but luckily it was still small (probably 120lbs? Definitely not full grown) I was able to get it freed with most of the hammock taken off the antlers but it started to bite its own tongue trying to fight the collar off of him so I just let him go. Better him still have a tongue and stop bleeding then take off the tiny bit of hammock still stuck to him. It’ll fall off eventually with wear and tear

Modern foot traps don't do damage to the foot. They close enough to hold onto the animal but don't hurt it or even break the skin. You can see the wolf ran without even limping right after and it had most likely been in the trap for several hours. Last year we were trying to trap a coyote and we got a red fox instead. We released him and he was just fine. Pic

I'm not sure, I'm not really knowledgeable on the subject. My dad was the one that was trying to trap the coyote last year. My contribution to the effort was taking the picture of the fox. I was just repeating what he told me about how traps just hold the foot and don't injure.

They're used to catch animals like lynx, foxes, coyotes and maybe wolverines? They're not legal in my country, but they come in varying sizes depending on the animal you're catching. It's just a metal bar that locks around the foot, imagine a fox trap without the teeth.

Not to be rude but you don't actually know what you're talking about. The old fashion bear traps with the teeth that would break limbs and tear flesh you see in cartoons aren't even legal in most if not all U.S. states (last I knew only Idaho hadn't banned them but that was some years ago.

Modern foothold traps are designed with animal welfare in mind. I'm not going to spout off that they are super ethical but as long as you follow the law the animal caught in them should come to no harm. Traps are set for the animal weight you want to catch. For instance if I want to trap a wolf I would set the trigger so that a smaller animal like a coyote wouldn't set it off. And a larger animal like an elk would just be able to break out of it. The anchors are set to a similar weight, and the chains are required to have multiple swivels so that the animal can't get its leg twisted in a way were it won't be able to move or may do damage.

For a wolf this size this is likely a padded and offset foothold, pads to prevent damage, offset to allow for greater bloodflow. Getting trapped is surely stressful for the animal, but honestly after they realize they can't move they kind of just sit there, I've never seen one do anything like chew through it's own leg, the traps really dont cause them pain.

All these are laws that trappers have to follow, and the were designed by biologists, trappers l, and environmental groups as "Best management practices". In fact, wildlife biologists sho study wolves use foothold traps to capture them so they can be tagged and studied.

You can think trapping to harvest fur is unethical, and I'm not sure I would disagree, but know that I live in an state where the only legal traps are live take box traps, and parts of the state are now overrun with coyotes. Also at the end of the day trappers pay money to the state to be allowed to do this, and unfortunately because humans will never stop expanding wildlife contact is inevitable. If animals overpopulate human areas, you will be paying for fish and wildlife officers to cull them. At least with trapping the fur and meat(depending on the animal) will be used. Most if not all wildlife agencies required animals they kill to be disposed of, nothing can be used.

Source, licensed trapper, though I haven't trapped ina few years.

Edit: I figured I commented to late to get any traction but I guess not. Anyone interested in learning more I super recommend "The Meateater" podcast by Steve Rinella. Steve is one of my role models and I exactly what a modern hunter should be, a conservationist first, a meat hunter and someone who cares greatly about the natural world. He grew up hunting, fishing, and made a semi living trapping beaver at one point. I recommend episode 166 "Hunting with teeth" as it pertains exactly to this gif and conversation. He talks with a wolf biologist about wolves in Michigan or Minnesota (sorry, can't remember which state), and she talks about setting traps like this for wolf study. Super interesting episode if you like wolves at all.